Sign



Nov. 7. 1939. s. F. ARBUCKLE 2.17 .715

SIGN

Filed Oct. 25, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l 1 INVENTOR. 5mz1el f'flrizzz'ila Nov. 7 1939. s. F. ARBUCKLE SIGN Filed Oct. 25, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

- ATTORNEYS.

. Patented Nov. 7,1939

UNITED STATES SIGN Samuel F. Arbuckle, Highland Park, Mich., aslignor to S. F. Arbuckle Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Application October 25, 1935, Serial No. 46,663

4 Claims.

This invention relates generally to sign con structions. ticular class of sign construction which is adapted to be used along highways.

In the construction of road signs to serve the purpose of warninaand to indicate various route numbers, and for the purpose of furnishing other information and warnings along roadways, it is conventional to provide signs which have the 10 indicia thereon formed of material which serves to reflect the light from the head-lights of vehicles in order that these signs may be easily readable at night.

It is quite conventional in present day practice to provide signs in which the indicia are made up of a plurality of glass beads or mirrors having minute reflecting surfaces which serve to reflect the light from the headlights of a car back in substantially the area traversed by the car in order that the driver thereof may easily read the indicia. The glass beads and other reflecting mediums used in the past have been found to be very expensive and complicated. This is largely due to the fact that a great many of individual units are required in order to provide a single character of'a sign.

It is, therefore, an object of the present in vention to provide a sign construction which will be much cheaper of manufacture, much simpler in construction, and which will be even more effective than the far more expensive and complicated signs heretofore known.

It is another important object of this invention to provide a series of related signs so arranged and so constructed that they will become serially visible to the driver of a vehicle passing along a roadway. Such signs as this are particularly advantageous for advertising purposes and are particularly effective when used in the manner taught by the present invention.

Still further, the invention contemplates the provision of novel means for securing the indicia to the backing surface of the sign.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a series of related signs adapted to be placed adjacent curves in a roadway in such a manner that the signs will become individually and serially visible with no more than one sign visible at a single instant. As will be appreciated from the following specification such an arrangement of signs provides the efiect of a moving picture, and is particularly useful for advertising purposes.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following 55 specification when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of a sign embodying reflecting indicia and non-reflecting indicia.

Particularly, it relates to that par- Fig. 2 illustrates a front elevation of a highway route marker having the indicia thereon of the improved reflecting material,

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of a caution sign adapted to be used to indicate a curve in the road.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of the sign shown in Fig. 1 showing one of the reflecting indicia in greater detail.

.Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4 showing one manner in which the indicia may be secured to the back ground of the sign,

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view similar to Fig. 5 showing a modified means of securing indicia to the background plate of the sign.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional view similar to Fig. 6 showing a further modified means of securing the indicia to a background plate a Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional view showing a still further modified means of securing the indicia to the background of a sign,

Fig. 9 is an enlarged sectional view showing a modified form of indicia secured to a background plate.

Fig. 10 is a plan view of a curve in a roadway showing the placement of three related signs.

Fig. 11 is a side elevation of the three signs shown in Fig. 10 showing their relative position.

Fig. 12 is a sectional view taken on the line 82-62 of Fig. 11 showing the means by which the indicia of one of the signs is secured to the background thereof.

Fig. 13 is a view of a roadway similar to Fig. 10 showing three related signs of a modified type.

Fig. 14 is a view in elevation of the three signs shown in Fig. 13, showing them in their relative positions,

Fig. 15 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 85-45 of Fig. 14 showing the means by which the individual indicia of the first; sign is secured to the background thereof.

Fig. 16 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line i6-I6 of Fig. 14 showing the structure of the indicia of the second sign.

Fig. 17 is a sectional view taken on the line iii-i1 of Fig. 14 showing the structure of the indicia of the third sign.

Figs. 18, 19 and 20 illustrate a modified form of the invention in which a plurality of signs are adapted for a novel advertising purpose.

With more particular reference to the drawings, the sign shown in elevation in Fig. 1 comprises a background plate l0 suitably mounted on a standard H as is conventional in the art. The background plate may have painted thereon a sign comprising a plurality of letters l2 of non-reflecting material which are adapted to be read in the daytime. The reflecting portion of the sign constitutes a plurality of letters l4, constructed in accordance with the teaching of the present invention.

By reference to the detailed views shown in Figs.4 and 5, it may be seen that the background plate ID in this embodiment of the invention has the letters forming thereflecting portion of the sign in relief, raised from the surface of the background plate. It will be seen that each of these individual letters is formed of a single, relatively thin sheet metal stamping l5 having marginal flanges which serve to space the body and Guy H. Coulter on June 11, 1935.

By reference to this prior patent, it will be seen that the surface of the member I5 is embossed to provide a vertical series of lines and a transverse series of rows of frusto-pyramidal struc-' tures arranged in closely adjacent relation. This surface has been found to be particularly effective in providing a reflecting surface for signs of this general character.

The surface of the metallic member I5 is preferably plated with some very bright, highly reflecting material such, for example, as chromium, in order that it will maintain its reflecting surface even in adverse weather conditions. In Fig. 6 is shown a modified means by which the reflecting sheet metal members may be secured to the background of the sign. In this form of the invention, a sheet metal member 20 is provided having marginal flanges 2i which serve to space the body of the letter from the background of the sign. It will be seen that in this form of the invention the letters or indicia of the sign are formed in relief or embossed in the backing plate and consequently the reflecting surface member 20 is supported by the backing plate throughout its body portion as well as at its marginal edges. Sheet metal member 20 is provided at suitable intervals therein with countersunk holes 22 through which pass bolts 23, which serve to mount the sheet metal member upon the background.

In Fig. 7 is shown a somewhat similar type of construction to that just described. A reflecting element 24 is provided which has a marginal flange 25 serving to space the body of the element from the background plate. In this form of the invention securing holes are provided in the surface of the element 20 which have their marginal edges 26 pressed inwardly to space the body portion of the element from the background plate and also serve the purpose of providing a countersunk seat for the head of the bolt 23 which serves to secure the element in place.

A still further modified form of the invention is illustrated in Fig. 8 wherein a sheet metal member 21 forming one of the reflecting elements of the sign is provided with a marginal flange 28 for spacing the body thereof from the background of the sign and has secured to the reverse side thereof a rivet 29 which is adapted to be headed on the reverse side of the sign in order to secure the particular sheet metal member permanently thereto.

when it is desired to mount the letters substantially in the plane of the background, the marginal flanges shown in connection with the preceding figures may be dispensed with and the invention then takes the form substantially as shownin Fig. 9, wherein the body of the material forming the reflecting surface 30 is shown without any marginal flange and is held securely in engagement with the gackground by means of rivets 3| passing through the background plate and headed thereagainst. Several particularly advantageous uses of applicant's invention are illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. As will be seen by reference to Fig. 2, the conventional route marker comprises a background plate mounted upon a suitable standard 38 and has secured to the face thereof a plurality of indicia 31. These indicia may be constructed in accordance with any of the modified forms of the invention described above.

In Fig. 3 is shown a warning marker adapted to be used to warn an oncoming vehicle of a turn in the road. This marker comprises a background plate 38 which is mounted on a conventional standard 39 and has painted on the surface of the background plate indicia 40, serving to describe the nature of the danger ahead, which indicia may or may not be of the reflecting type,

as is desired. The principal reflecting portion of the sign in this embodiment of the invention comprises an arcuate arrow 4| indicating that a curve in the road is ahead. This arrow is formed of a single sheet metal stamping having a surface structure substantially the same as has been described in connection with the preceding figures, and mounted on the background plate by any of the means shown in Figs. 5 to 9, inclusive, and described above.

It will be appreciated'that signs of the construction defined herein disclose indicia which at night will respond to the light of automobile headlights to give a relatively effective warning of oncoming danger.

A particular application of the present invention is illustrated in Figs. 10 and 11 in which a plurality of signs 45, 46 and 4'! are arranged in series adjacent a curve in a roadway. These signs have related indicia generally designated as 48 of reflecting material secured to the surfaces thereof, and it will be appreciated that as an automobile 49 travels along the roadway, these signs will each be serially readable. It will be further noted that due to their relative angular position, no more than one single one of the signs will be visible at any one time. Hence, it is essential that they be read in their proper order as an automobile proceeds along the roadway. It is noted that each of the individual signs in the series is mounted in a position so that its surface will be substantially perpendicular to the rays of the headlight from the automobile 49 as it travels along the roadway,

A further modified form of the invention described in connection with Figs. 10, 11 and i2, is shown in Figs. 13 to 17, inclusive, in which a plurality of signs are arranged in spaced relation along a curve in a roadway. These signs, shown as elements 5|, 52 and 53 respectively, are each provided with reflecting indicia of a modifled form. The indicia in this case, as was the case in connection with Figs. 10 to 12, are adapted for serial reading and are of different physi-' cal structure in the case of each of the respective signs. In Figs. 15, 16 and 17, sectional views are shown through portions of individual chardicia have one pouring the contents of a acters on each of the signs 5| 52 and 53. It will be notedthat in connection with the sign ii, the position of this sign is substantially perpendicular to the direction of the headlights of the approaching car, and, consequently, it is substantially similar in construction to the signs described above.

In the sign constructions shown and described in the present application it will be appreciated that the structure of the reflecting surfaces is such that the light impinging upon them will be reflected in a predetermined relatively localized area. Consequently, the images produced will be sharply defined and visible only throughouta relatively small angle. Thus, to a passing automobile the signs will be visible for a rela= tively short time but during such time will be of substantially uniform, maximum brilliance.

In the case of the sign 52, shown in section in Fig. 16, each of the individual indicia thereon have the main reflecting surfaces thereof inclined at an angle to the background of the sign in order that the plane of the surface, of the indicia will lie substantially perpendicular to the headlight rays of the car as It is noted in connection with this sign 52, that the rays from the headlight oi the car strike the background at a relatively acute angle and, consequently, it is necessary that the individual inflange 56 thereof raised substantially in order that the body of the reflecting surface will be in a plane substantially perpendicular tothe headlights of the oncoming car. This is even more true in cases of characters on the sign 53, in which the headlights of the oncoming car strike the background plate 53 at an even more acute angle than was the case in the 51211 52. Consequently, each oi. the individual indicia on the sign 53 is provided with a relatively wide flange 51 at one side of each of the characters which serves to incline the body portions of the characters to an angle substantially perpendicular to the light rays of the headlights of a car proceeding along the roadway.

Figures l8, l9 and 20 illustrate a still further modified form of the invention showing the reflecting surface portions of three related signs which may be placed as were the signs 5, 46 and 41 shown in g. 10 or may be placed in spaced relation along the side of a straight section of roadway in order that they will be serially visible.

It will be appreciated that the signs depict, by way of illustration, three successive stages of movement designed to give a representation of bottle into a glass. It will be seen that due to the construction of the reflecting surfaces that when these sign are placed serially along a roadway they will become separately and serially visible to the driver of a car and render an effect similar to a motion picture.

the car approaches.

In Fig. 18 the bottle is formed of a single sheet of metal stamping 60 in the manner described above having an outer configuration designed similar to the article it represents. The glass 6| has a reflecting outline with a non-reflecting center and consequently depicts the glass as empty.

In Fig. 19 a bottle 62 is shown tilted with a triangular cut out portion indicating that the contents have partially been poured out. The bottle here is connected to a glass 83 by a reflecting strip 64 illustrating the flow of the contents of the bottle into the glass. Itwill be seen that due to the interconnection between these parts all reflecting parts of the sign shown in Fig. 19 may be a single integral sheet metal stamping.

Fig. 20 shows the third stage in which a bottle is empty and a glass 66 is represented as full.

It will be apparent that the foregoing embodiments'of the invention are merely speciflc illustrations of many and various modifications of which the invention defined in the subjoined claims is susceptible.

What isclaimed is:

1. In a sign construction, a non-reflecting supporting plate having raised indicia thereon, refleeting elements secured to said backing plate over said indicia, said elements being formed of sheet metal and having a highly polished surface, a flange formed around the marginal edge of said reflecting element serving to space said element from said supporting plate and position the same relative to said indicia, and lugs formed on said flange and adapted to extend through said supporting plate to secure said element thereto.

2. A sign having embossed thereon an indicium projecting above its front surface, an element the shape of said indicium having its edges flanged to project over said indicium, means for securing said element to said indicium, said element having a plurality of reflecting surfaces thereon.

3. A sign having a nonreflecting surface and a plurality of indicia embossed thereon extending outward from said surface, elements the shape of said indicia having their edges flanged to encompass said indicia to retain the elements positioned relative thereto, means for securing said elements to said indicia, said element having a plurality of reflecting surfaces thereon.

4. A medallion having an indicium embossed thereon extended from the front surface thereof, and an element the shape of said indicium secured thereto, said element having projecting side portions which position the element relative to the indicium and a front face having a pinrality of reflecting surfaces thereon.

' samurai r'. ARBUCKLE. 

